From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 94 Apprentice
Xu Zhongche respectfully accepted the cup with both hands, lowered his head and took small sips, savoring the taste.

"Sir, this medicinal soup contains wolfberry and daisy, but I don't know about the others."

He shook his head and only named two of the medicinal herbs.

"Ache, try it again carefully."

Xu Xiaogou was worried that his son would miss this hard-won opportunity, so he repeatedly reminded him.

"no need."

Tao Shiyuan interrupted the two of them.

The medicinal soup he had just casually brewed contained only four herbs, among which the aroma of lycium barbarum was so strong that it was almost pungent and could be smelled.

It's not surprising that anyone with a keen sense of taste can detect the flavor of daisies.

It seems that the child in front of him is nothing special; it is just his father's misconception that he "hopes his son will become a dragon."

Just then, a porter carried a sack of medicinal herbs into the courtyard.

Xu Zhongche suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the bag of herbs: "There's also this kind of medicine, but I don't know what it's called."

"..."

Tao Shiyuan was stunned.

That's right, the medicinal soup contained this ingredient, "Mingjuezi".

He suddenly realized that Xu Zhongche's "I don't know" did not mean he didn't taste it, but rather that he lacked knowledge of the medicinal materials and did not know what kind of medicine it was.

Being able to smell the faint aroma of cassia seeds in a medicinal soup amidst a mixture of various scents is truly an extraordinary talent.

He was somewhat convinced and slowly said, "That's called Mingjuezi. There's another ingredient in the medicinal soup. Look around my pharmacy and see if you can find it."

If that last medicinal ingredient can be found, it would be truly incredible.

"it is good."

Xu Zhongche entered the room where Tao Shiyuan had just been brewing medicine, rummaged around, sniffed, and occasionally stuck out his tongue to lick the herbs.

"what?"

He picked up a withered yellow shell, the shed skin of a cicada, and licked it with a hint of disgust, somewhat incredulous: "Grandpa, is this considered a medicinal herb?"

Tao Shiyuan's heart trembled; this boy's talent was astonishing.

He remained outwardly calm and composed: "Yes, that's called cicada molting. It has the effects of dispersing wind-heat, relieving sore throat and rashes, and improving eyesight and clearing away corneal opacity."

He just added some cicada molting fragments to the medicinal soup. Cicada molting has an extremely bland taste, and when added to the soup, it has almost no flavor, yet it can still be tasted.

"His name is Xu Zhongche, right?"

Tao Shiyuan suddenly turned to look at Xu Xiaogou.

Ok?
Xu Xiaogou realized what he meant and nodded repeatedly with a happy expression: "Yes, my son's name is Xu Zhongche. Ah Che, quickly call him Master."

"master."

"Don't rush to call me master. First, be my assistant and be my apprentice. Come over whenever you have free time starting tomorrow and help me dry the herbs and grind them into powder."

"Yes, Mr. Tao, please feel free to order him around. I will certainly make him diligent and hardworking..."

Xu Xiaogou felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. His family's Zhongche's inheritance of the pharmacist's art finally had a place to go.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the days that followed, apart from his daily practice of stance training and reading, Xu Zhongche spent the rest of his time being sent by Xu Xiaogou to Tao Shiyuan's residence to learn about alchemy.

She was well-behaved and sensible, and always obeyed Tao Shiyuan's orders. Her talent in medicinal herbs amazed Tao Shiyuan.

Despite his outwardly strict and unfriendly attitude towards Xu Zhongche, Tao Shiyuan was actually quite satisfied with him as they spent their days together.

He taught Xu Zhongche everything, from distinguishing the types and ages of medicinal herbs and assessing their medicinal properties, to the theory of mutual generation and restraint among medicinal herbs, and even the control of the heat when decocting medicine.

He didn't even hide the fact that he was refining antidote pills from Xu Zhongche; instead, he let Xu Zhongche observe and learn from him.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Time flies and two months have passed.

At Xu Xiaogou's home.

"Ache, let's not go to your master's place today, let's go back to the village. Go and call your younger brother."

As Xu Xiaogou spoke, he loaded the prepared tea, poria cocos paste, and other items for his parents onto the carriage.

He has recently been studying martial arts and often goes to his father-in-law Fu Yuanzhen's house to ask for advice. He is so busy that he has not been home to visit his parents for a long time.

He took the opportunity of giving the children the Five Elements Herbal Soup once a month to go home.

Xu Zhongche and Xu Zhonghuai boarded the carriage.

Xu Xiaogou drove the horse-drawn carriage to pick up his fourth brother, Xu Zhongchao, and then headed to Baihe Village.

The clattering carriage came to a stop in front of the Xu family's old house.

"mother!"

Xu Xiaogou saw that Jiazhen had cultivated a small garden on the vacant land next to the house and was watering the flowers and tending to the grass.

"grandmother!"

The children called out.

"Eh~~"

Jiazhen responded, her face beaming with joy upon seeing Sangou and his grandchildren return. She was now enjoying her retirement and hoped her children and grandchildren would visit often.

"Mother, I brought you Poria cocos paste and donkey-hide gelatin pills, and I put them in your room."

Xu Xiaogou carried his things into the courtyard.

"Daddy~~Daddy?"

He called out several times, but there was no response.

"Father is really too obsessed with cultivation."

He didn't know that Xu Fugui's "seclusion" was in his internal space, where he couldn't hear the outside world, and assumed that he was so engrossed in cultivation that he ignored the outside world.

Xu Fugui still hadn't appeared by noon.

"It seems Father has forgotten the date again."

With this in mind, Xu Xiaogou continued to work on the physical techniques that complemented the Five Elements Stance Exercise in his backyard.

That evening, he and his three children stayed at the old house.

The Xu family's old house is now only inhabited by Xu Fugui and Jiazhen, along with two maids, so there are many empty rooms.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Xu Fugui appeared the next morning.

"Did I remember the date wrong?" He then realized that he had remembered the date wrong; yesterday was the day to brew the Five Elements Elixir Soup for the children.

This isn't the first time.

There is no distinction between day and night in the inner space. He cultivates his skills in it, and two or three days pass in the blink of an eye, making it easy to miss the time.

"A-Che, how's your alchemy skill coming along?"

He planned to hand over the task of brewing the Five Elements Elixir Soup to Xu Zhongche, who was only nine years old, in advance, so as not to keep forgetting the time.

"Grandpa, I now recognize more than 800 kinds of medicinal herbs, can remember the effects of more than 300 of them, and also know the five heat levels for refining medicine."

Xu Zhongche felt that he was doing well in his studies, but his master always said that he was too bad and needed to learn and practice more.

“Come with Grandpa.”

Xu Fugui led him into the medicinal cuisine room.

"This medicinal cuisine room used to be accessible only to Grandpa, but from now on, only the two of us can enter. The secret family recipe for the medicinal soups prepared here must not be revealed to anyone, not even your master."

The medicinal herbs also cannot be taken out. This is extremely important!

"Yes, Grandpa, I'll remember."

Xu Zhongche nodded obediently when his grandfather gave him his solemn instructions.

"Next, you will learn from Grandpa how to brew the Five Elements Herbal Soup."

Xu Fugui first taught Xu Zhongche the recipe for brewing the medicinal soup that was included in the "Five Elements Stance Exercises," and then demonstrated how to brew the Five Elements medicinal soup on the spot.

Xu Zhongche could clearly distinguish the five elemental plants he used from ordinary medicinal herbs.

But since Xu Fugui didn't say anything, Xu Zhongche didn't ask, keeping his doubts to himself. This was a secret of the Xu family.

At a young age, Xu Zhongche was burdened with a secret concerning his family.

"Did you understand? Do you want me to show you again?"

Xu Fugui was worried that he was too young and had not learned it.

“I’ve remembered it all, Grandpa. First Rosen, then Lansten…”

Xu Zhongche not only has a good memory, but the principles of mutual generation and restraint of the medicinal properties contained therein are the same as those taught by his master, so he can understand them very easily.

Moreover, he often watched his master refine medicine, and through this exposure, he was able to discern the difference between his grandfather's and his master's medicine-refining skills.

Xu Fugui was not a pharmacist; he figured out the formulas himself based on the prescriptions in the standing meditation exercises. Of course, he couldn't compare to Tao Shiyuan, who had the lineage of a pharmacist.

"Then try it."

Xu Fugui watched from the sidelines.

Next, Xu Zhongche once again demonstrated his pharmacist talent, which impressed Xu Fugui. He failed the first time he tried to brew the medicine and add the last ingredient.

The second brewing successfully produced a colorless and transparent Five Elements Elixir Soup.

By the third time, he was already quite skilled and quickly brewed a near-perfect Five Elements Elixir Soup.

Their unique method of dispensing medicine allows them to quickly and accurately dispense the desired amount, without any excess or error.

Xu Fugui sighed, "This is the difference between 'having a tradition' and 'being half-baked'."

No, this is what it means to have "tradition" plus "extraordinary talent".

"Zhongche, from now on, the task of brewing medicinal soup for our family will be entrusted to you."

Xu Fugui patted Xu Zhongche on the shoulder, feeling a sense of relief as if a heavy responsibility had been lifted. From now on, he would only need to provide a small amount of spiritual plants periodically, and the rest would be left to Xu Zhongche.

Xu Zhongche felt a heavy weight on his shoulders; he felt a responsibility beyond his years. Though young, he possessed great ability. And with it, great responsibility.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the days that followed, the Xu family lived a peaceful and stable life.

Xu Fugui diligently cultivated every day, striving to break through to the third level of Qi Refining as soon as possible.

Xu Xiaogou was passionate about martial arts and dedicated himself to developing physical techniques that complemented stance training for the Xu family.

Xu Zhongche studied diligently and his skills in alchemy improved rapidly.

There was also Xu Xiaohou, who secluded himself to practice martial arts, hoping to make a name for himself.

Yiwu Pharmacy.

"Manager Jia, please get me a bottle of Qi and Blood Pills and put it on my brother's tab."

Xu Xiaohou has come four or five times already.

Ever since he first received the Qi and Blood Pill, he experienced the progress of his stance training under the support of resources, and he couldn't stop.

After that, he came to collect the Qi and Blood Pills several times, and each time it was recorded in Xu Xiaoyun's account.

However, apart from the first time, he never told Xu Xiaoyun about it again.

Shopkeeper Jia greeted him with a beaming smile: "Young Master Xu, how many would you like this time?"

"Three."

Xu Xiaohou estimated that three Qi and Blood Pills would be enough for him to complete the third level of stance training.

With the nourishment of the Qi and Blood Pills, his progress in stance training has been rapid, and he is not far from completing the third level of stance training.

"okay."

Manager Jia brought a bottle containing three Qi and Blood Pills, along with an account book.

Xu Xiaohou signed his name and glanced at the list; he realized he had already added nearly twenty Qi and Blood Pills to his inventory.

"Sigh~~"

He gasped inwardly. He hadn't realized how much he'd been shocked when he calculated it.

One piece costs eighty taels of silver, so twenty pieces would cost one thousand six hundred taels.

"I wonder if my fourth brother will blame me if he finds out I spent so much money on Qi and Blood Pills?"

His heart was pounding.

Although Yun'an Tavern is profitable, that money is used to support the entire Xu family.

One thousand six hundred taels, that's a large sum.

Qi and Blood Pills are too expensive, and even wealthy families in the city rarely use them to practice Qi and Blood Pills for stance training like Xu Xiaohou.

"First, master the third level of stance training. Then you need to learn the innate part of stance training from Third Brother, and after that, the innate part!"

Thinking of the prestige of the Innate Realm, Xu Xiaohou put the bookkeeping matter out of his mind.

Making trouble might result in punishment, but breaking through to the innate level is truly exhilarating.

Manager Jia put away the ledger and watched Xu Xiaohou's departing figure, thinking to himself: Although more than a thousand taels of silver is a lot, given the circumstances of Xu Xiaohou's brothers, it is impossible for him to renege on the debt.

(End of this chapter)